Chapter Fourteen Synopsis of Discussion

Week of October 7, 2007

Chapter 14 – Squirrel Takes Revenge

Miss Hickory is contemplating using Squirrel’s hole in the apple tree as her new home. She thought Squirrel was gone but he surprised her when he spoke. Squirrel didn’t look good and says he is starving. Miss Hickory berates him for eating all the nuts and not using his head. When she called him a wastrel, that was enough. He defended his actions. Even though he has a bad memory and can’t remember where he buried nuts, he feels he is responsible for all the new tree growth in the forest because of his buried nuts. Suddenly, Squirrel lunges at Miss Hickory as he can stand it no longer. He wants her head. His only thought is how hickory nuts are so juicy and full of sweet meat and he is hungry.

While Squirrel is cracking away at her head, Miss Hickory can hear her head talking to her faster than it ever had before and aloud. Her life flashes before her eyes as her head tells her that a nut is not the proper headpiece for her tough body; that she is too hardheaded as she didn’t realize how important a change of scene was until she was deserted and Crow moved her in, against her will, to Robin’s nest for the winter; that she wouldn’t believe Mr. T. Willard-Brown when he invited her to see Cow being given medicine; and that she wouldn’t believe Squirrel when he told her about the Christmas Eve celebration in the barn. That was her worst mistake. She was too late in reaching the barn and did not see the wonder in the manger on Christmas Eve.

At the last crack from Squirrel, her head told her to think about what a pleasant life she has had - sunsets and a mountain to look at; plenty to eat for the picking; kind neighbors. What had she ever done for anybody? She did found the Ladies’ Aid Society but that pleased her vanity. She lived selfishly all her life. She wouldn’t even give away her hard head.

Although she had no choice, she did make a change in Squirrel’s life. She so scared Squirrel when he saw her headless body moving around that he repented of having eaten Miss Hickory’s head and was a good squirrel forever after. He took her prior teachings to heart and gathered enough nuts for each winter and ate only three meals a day with nothing between meals.

Miss Hickory, on the other hand, felt more alert and capable then when she had her head. She ran up the apple tree. She had no doubt or fear in her freely running sap. She swung higher than she had ever dared to swing before. She threw her clothes away so that she could climb better. Miss Hickory reached her old nest, touched the blue robin eggs gently, and moved on up the tree. The nest was too shady, too sheltered. She needed a higher location in the tree where the sun would be stronger, winds higher and rains could be her shower bath. She climbed higher and started feeling strange, knobby, as if she were budding. The warm sap bursted through her body and she climbed higher and higher toward the top of the tree. She had a feeling of being really at home, as if she belonged here. After she left her nest, Squirrel, High-Mowing, all of her past life below, far down on the earth, she began to feel tired. Her twig feet found a wide upper crotch in the apple tree. She pushed herself into it and rested there.
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Well, I console myself that at least the chapter is Halloween themed. The part that really creeps me out is the head talking to the body while Squirrel munches on it-ew! Miss Hickory Kirby was NOT allowed to view this chapter and went out to plant seeds...even though it's the wrong season.
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I agree that the actions in this chapter are rather creepy. Luckily all of the current Miss Hickorys are able to change the ending of the story to a much happier outcome.
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I agree! My Miss Hickory is NOT going to end up with her head eaten off while she is still thinking! urgh. This chapter freaked me out quite a bit the first time I read it. I was really wondering where the writer was going with this! The end does make more sense, but still--I would rather have seen her head fall off or something other than this!
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Yikes, what a way to go. The last words to her were so mean. Maybe they were her regrets speaking aloud for the mistakes she made along the way.
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This chapter was, to say the least, odd.
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This chapter was not what I expected. Poor Miss Hickory. Why not just let her little nut head fall to the ground which, like a pecan, will sprout
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The ending was sort of ugly, although it was good that her body found a tree to splice into, but both could have happened. She could have lost her head while running to the tree and the head sprouted too. I thought the book was rather strange. But we seemed to enjoy the activities.
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I agree....this chapter was not my favorite. As mentioned before, the crafts have been enjoyable. The book, so-so.
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Perhaps the author is trying to point out that while we are alive, we should live unselfishly, help our family, friends and those in need, listen to people when they talk to us, and try to do what is right, so that when we come to the end of our lives, we won’t have those horrible regrets facing us.

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